Up at 7:10 am, out by 7:50 am, coffee and Cola Cao at 8 am, and then we climbed. The climb
was long but managable, as a heavy fog kept us cool. At the top of this mountain, a local
albergue operator had set up a donativo cafe in an old barn. A voice in the fog called
out “Cafe?” And we responded “Si.” When we saw his choices we opted for lemon sodas. It
was an oasis in the fog.
Nicolas
Nicolas is a hospitalero at an albergue just past Salas. He surprised us with a donativo cafe at the end of a long climb. He enjoys the company of pilgrims from around the world.
Ricky
Ricky is from Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago of volcanic islands off the northwestern
coast of Africa. He is always smiling and friendly with all. He is walking the Primitivo with us
and a growing group of pilgrim friends. He also walked to Finisterre after Santiago.
Nicolas is local and operates an albergue. This day he was operating a donativo cafe in a
small barn.
The fog persisted so I can’t describe the countryside, but we passed many pastures of
Austuriana beef cattle. Two types exist here, valley and mountain. They each thrive in their
namesake environments. We also walked quickly past several aromatic dairy barns. Holstein
Frisians seem to be most common.
Andris
Andris is from Latvia. He started walking Camino Del Norte but switched to Camino Primitivo.
Scarlet
Scarlet is from Hong Kong. She is also walking Camino Primitivo but has walked Camino
Portuguese previously. We ended up staying at many of the same albergues as Scarlet and
had many thoughtful discussions about the differences between Canada and Hong Kong,
public and private ownership, and why we walk.
We entered a sports complex of sorts called a Bolerna as we entered Tineo, our destination
for the day. We followed Nathan, our hiking mate, as curiosity got the best of him. We were
invited in to watch. Bolos or bowling is a common sport in Austurias and Bolos de Tineo, what
we witnessed, is unique to this place. How do I describe this? Think curling club crowd with
beers in hand, throwing or rolling a heavy wooden ball at a platform with 10” wooden pegs
standing in a line. Points are awarded for the number of pins hit and for the distance they fly.
We are staying at the Hotel Palicio e Meras in Tineo. We’ll sort of. The owner walked a
Camino from Rome to Santiago in 2022 and upon returning, converted the spa in the
basement of the hotel into an albergue. By the design of the bunkrooms, bathrooms, and
lounge area, it is evident that the designer was a pilgrim. It is so nice to be in a space
designed with our specific needs in mind. 22 euros gets me a bed and breakfast in the hotel
dining room. It’s pretty posh for us pilgrims. Still there was some disappointment because
literature about this town’s accommodations advertised the spa, our reason for choosing it in
the first place. Oh well.